Philip has a goal of saving $3000. The function s(t)=500×1.4t

represents the amount of money Philip has saved after t
months.

A. Build a function r(t)
to represent the amount of money Philip has left to save at t
months.
After how many months will Philip have saved at least $3000? Enter your answer as a whole number.

1 answer

To find the function \( r(t) \) representing the amount of money Philip has left to save at \( t \) months, we can begin by stating that:

  • Philip's goal is to save $3000.
  • The function \( s(t) = 500 \times 1.4^t \) represents the amount he has saved after \( t \) months.

The amount Philip has left to save, \( r(t) \), can be represented as:

\[ r(t) = 3000 - s(t) \]

Substituting the function \( s(t) \) into this equation gives us:

\[ r(t) = 3000 - 500 \times 1.4^t \]

To find out how many months it will take for Philip to save at least $3000, we need to solve for \( t \) when \( s(t) \) is equal to or greater than $3000:

\[ 500 \times 1.4^t \geq 3000 \]

Dividing both sides by 500:

\[ 1.4^t \geq 6 \]

Now, we take the logarithm of both sides (using natural logarithm, but common logarithm would work just as well):

\[ \log(1.4^t) \geq \log(6) \]

Using the power rule of logarithms:

\[ t \cdot \log(1.4) \geq \log(6) \]

Now solve for \( t \):

\[ t \geq \frac{\log(6)}{\log(1.4)} \]

Calculating the values:

\[ \log(6) \approx 0.7781 \] \[ \log(1.4) \approx 0.1461 \]

Now, divide these values:

\[ t \geq \frac{0.7781}{0.1461} \approx 5.33 \]

Since \( t \) must be a whole number, we take the next whole number:

\[ t \geq 6 \]

Thus, after 6 months, Philip will have saved at least $3000.